For a while in the 1980s, it seemed as though John Hughes had a direct
line to the hearts and souls of teenagers (and early-20s types) around
the world. Hughes began as an advertising copywriter, but turned out to
have a real proclivity for writing movies that amused the largest
section of the ticket-buying audience. MR. MOM was a smash hit, but
what really put Hughes over was the string of teen-oriented comedies
that began with SIXTEEN CANDLES in 1984.

He was 34 when the film was released, but he easily tapped into the
problems that teens of the mid-80s were most concerned about. THE
BREAKFAST CLUB, WEIRD SCIENCE and PRETTY IN PINK followed (and then, a
bit later, SHE'S HAVING A BABY). After that, he aimed lower -- both in
terms of sophistication and age level -- with HOME ALONE, and made even
more money. In recent years, he's written/produced movies based on TV
series and remakes, mostly for Disney, but though his films continue to
make money, they don't have the heart of his teen-oriented movies. And,
in fact, are generally pretty bad.

And of these, the two
best are THE BREAKFAST CLUB and the very different FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY
OFF, a frequently hilarious fantasy about the coolest guy in high
school, Ferris Bueller (played with charm and a smirk by Matthew
Broderick). This light, funny movie, made in a snappy, fresh style that
wears well, remains one of the best-loved films of those who were teens
when they saw it.

Although it leaves out one of the driving concerns of teenagers
altogether -- sex -- it's otherwise one of the great wish-fulfillment
fantasies about high school life. Ferris outsmarts all the adults as
well as his darkly envious sister Jeannie (Jennifer Grey), he gets to
drive a terrific car, he helps Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), his best
friend, feel better about himself, and at the end of the day, his
adoring parents (Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward) still think of him as
their innocent son. It's a win-win situation for Ferris from the moment
he opens his eyes that morning.

Ferris convinces his parents he's too sick to go to school, when
actually -- as he tells us directly, addressing the camera -- it's just
too nice a day to go to school. He'd rather spend it in Chicago with
his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and Cameron. As the movie
plays out, we learn more and more of the inventive means Ferris has set
up to carry on his deception.

Meanwhile, his archenemy, pompous dean of students Ed Rooney (Jeffrey
Jones), becomes increasingly determined to prove that Ferris is getting
away with something. But of course, Ferris is way ahead of him.

Ferris is something of a sprite, an elf, a magician; everything goes
the way he wants it to, even if -- as with a snobbish maitre d' -- it
sometimes takes a little thinking to bring it off. His scheme at
feigning illness works so well that billboards, newspapers and water
tanks post get-well messages before the day is out. And he and his
friends manage to go to museums, ball games, the top of the Sears Tower
and a snobbish restaurant all in one sunny day. Not to mention
participating in a German-American parade, which Ferris livens up by
lip-synching "Danke Schoen" and then, memorably and spectacularly,
"Twist and Shout," with all of downtown Chicago joining in. This
sequence must have been inspired by John Landis' "The Blues Brothers,"
but is on an even bigger scale than any number in that film.

But Hughes also meant the film to have a serious subplot: Ferris'
attempts to help Cameron throw off the heavy hand of his father. It's
Cameron's father's car they use for transportation to Chicago, and it
gets memorably destroyed at the end. But this is pretty cheap pandering
to the teenage crowd (it worked, though): destroy something beautiful
that belongs to an oppressive parent (never seen), and you somehow
strike a blow for freedom, rather than vandalism. The movie is somehow
supposed to take place both in Ferris' fantasy world, and the much more
real world where Cameron lives. But of course, Hughes completely avoids
the scene in which Cameron actually has to confront his father over
destroying a car worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Fortunately, the movie doesn't play as though it's really about Cameron
and his problems; it's a funny, breezy comedy about the wonder-workings
of the coolest guy in high school history, Ferris Bueller. And Hughes
was profoundly fortunate that Ferris was played by Matthew Broderick.
His sassy, get-me smiles never seem insolent, but charming; he really
does seem capable of bringing off all his preposterous machinations,
and we love him for it. Broderick has a terrifically expressive face --
notice the scene when he first drives off in the bright red Ferrari --
as well as a skilled actor's knowledge of how to play to the camera.
It's a wonderful piece of irony that one of his best later roles was as
a teacher in "Election," a teacher whom Ferris Bueller would have left
a pile of quivering jelly.

Jeffrey Jones was also ideal casting for Ferris' opponent (though they
have only one short scene together). Jones is a master of this kind of
role, the pompous, self-assured blowhard who believes that rules exist
solely to be followed. His angular face, big frame and big pop eyes
make him a perfect comic villain, and FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF provides
him with one of his funniest screen roles.

But what about all these other people, all fine? Alan Ruck's career
never really went anywhere; his best-known later role was as the
annoying bus passenger in SPEED, and he's had a supporting role on the
TV series "Spin City." Mia Sara disappeared into TV movies,
straight-to-video junk, and other minor efforts -- but she's so
>good< here, as the one person who understands Ferris, and whom
he can't bamboozle (he doesn't even try). Jennifer Grey (who was going
with Broderick at the time of the movie) had a very promising career;
she's terrific here, and was again the next year in DIRTY DANCING. But
then she got a nose job, which may have improved her looks in a
standard, classical sense, but wiped out her distinction. The roles
vanished so much that she recently had one of the weirdest comebacks in
showbiz history: on the series "It's Like, You Know..." she played
Jennifer Grey, an actress whose career was crippled when she had a nose
job.

There was a TV series, "Ferris Bueller," based on the movie, but it
wasn't half as much fun as the ripoff of FERRIS BUELLER, "Parker Lewis
Can't Lose."

The DVD is a pretty standard presentation, though the transfer is
especially good, crisp, clean and bright, preserving Tak Fujimoto's
stylized and stylish wide-screen photography. Hughes' choice of a music
track was eccentric, often using little-known British bands, but it's a
good one. Hughes' narration track has some interesting information, but
it doesn't really add much to the value of the DVD. What would have
been interesting was to hear him explain why, just four years after
FERRIS BUELLER, he gave up directing movies altogether. Since then,
he's only been a writer and producer.